The protests in Albania: the beginning, the course and the future

In this Prishtina Talks roundtable, Baki Goxhaj, Vehap Kola and Gerdi Demneri discuss the recent protests in Albania — how they began, how they developed and where they are heading — and the place of Muslims within them.

Baki Goxhaj starts from activism for Palestine, his own part in the flotilla to Gaza and the absence of support from the imams, raising the question of the “inflation of influence” and the rights of Muslims in the face of state repression.

Vehap Kola reads the protest through the prism of the transition elite, of the state as a mechanism of pressure, and of “value capture” as opposed to value creation. Gerdi Demneri, beginning from the danger of indifference, asks whether Muslims can offer society a vision of justice rooted in the Qur'an, in the life of the Prophet and in the Pact of al-Fudul.

Some of the points covered: 📌 The flotilla to Gaza and the silence over Palestine in Albania 📌 “The inflation of influence” — why the figure of the imam has lost its standing 📌 Hidden state repression and the case of the imam of Shkodra 📌 The protest as a political phenomenon: the transition elite and “value capture” 📌 Justice in the Qur'an, in the Prophet's life and the Pact of al-Fudul 📌 Three models of Muslim representation in the protest

📍 Prishtina Talks